Roomies
by Carmen Lolita
Summary: Raven just needed someone to bunk with. Someone to share the rent with. Someone simple, easily deceived, and quiet. Most of all quiet. Instead, she got a twenty-something Lorna Dane waking her up in the middle of the night, yelling about global warming.
1. Strangers

**ROOMMATE** ** WANTED FOR FEMALE GEOPHYSICS STUDENT**

**Must be:-**

_**Clean,** **Polite, and** **Respectful**_

**No pets, drugs, or excesses of alcohol (unless you're sharing! Though for real, no passing out on the sofa).**

**If interested, or want some more info (rent ect.), call Lorna Dane at 01712 845305**

Raven's eyes scanned the small slip of card in the post office window. There was something about the nonchalant tone that the girl used that caught her eye. There were a hundred other ads in the window like it – students really had no idea how to cope with single living in London. However, Raven really didn't know how to deal with single living in London either, unless it included pick pocketing, and doing all the things she had done to get by before she met Charles.

Shuddering, she fumbled in her bag for a pen, scribbling the student's phone number onto her left forearm. Raven refused to return there, she was a big girl now, and she didn't need Charles to look after her anymore. She didn't need Erik to boss her around, either. She just needed someone to help pay the rent, because all those high-class hotels were becoming expensive.

It was days like this when Raven missed the sixties.

* * *

She had to act natural. It was easy, make the call, ask the right questions, be friendly. Be HUMAN. Raven sighed, and itched her arm. The call box she had shuffled inside with the few coins she had left from her last scrounge from Erik's bank account smelt. Not the good kind of smell either. It was never a good sign when a call box's windows were plastered up with flyers, she supposed. It normally indicated people were sleeping in there, or using the box as a temporary toilet.

She slotted the coins into the machine, holding the grotty telephone delicately in one hand as she punched in the number onto the pad. This was fine. It would be fine. Nothing to worry about. Nothing at all.

_Ring Ring!_

_Ring Ring!_

_Ring Ring!_

_Ring –_

Click. "Hello, Lorna Dane. How can I help you?"

Raven took a gulp of urine-perfumed air. "Hi, I saw your ad about a roommate. I was wondering if – "

"Oh my god! I thought no-one would see it!" Interjected the bubbly girl, cutting Raven off, " I've been waiting MONTHS for a reply. Well, a reply that wasn't creepy anyway. You know how men are, am I right?

"Sure," Raven said slowly, thumbing the yellow pages chained the ledge in front of her.

"You wanna come over and see the apartment? I'm free today, if you're interested?"

That question took Raven by surprise. Wasn't she meant to be asking that? "Um, sure."

"Ace! You got a pen?" Raven scrambled to keep the phone pressed in between her shoulder and ear and she noted down the address that bubbly Lorna babbled from the other end of the phone to her. "Oh gosh, I'm such a ditz, I forgot to ask your name!"

Raven almost noted that down, then realised it was an odd-sort of question. "Oh, my name's Raven."

Raven could practically hear the Lorna-girl beaming down the other end of the telephone, "Well, Raven, I can't wait to meet you, and you gotta tell me where you got that accent, I'm hella jealous. Bye now!" The phone went off with a click before Raven could even reply.

Oh god. What had she gotten herself into? Raven wasn't even sure she was listening to where the girl lived, she just scribbled down anything on her arm and tuned out from the girls soft English voice. Glancing down at her arm, Raven squinted, trying to read the chicken scratch below the girl's number in the dying light of the telephone box. _C - something? Wis...wict...wick? C- Wick? Wait, no, hang on_, thought Raven as she flipped through the yellow pages in front of her, searching for the girl's landline number. Boom! Chiswick. Where was Chiswick again?

Pulling out a creased map from her bag, Raven took a suspicious look through the gaps in the newspapered windows. No-one appeared to be around, that was good. one of the main reasons she'd decided to call at night, if she was honest with herself. She was always wondering whether her facade was slipping these days; whether one day her mask of humanity would fall and she wouldn't be able to pull it back up again. If that day ever came (as Raven feared it very well would), then that would be the day that no disguise would hide her. Not from humanity, she couldn't care less about them. No, she was scared of wearing her face in case _he _saw her. When he did, she wouldn't be able to run anymore.

Finally unfolding the map, Raven brushed today's faces' hair out of her eyes. She had chosen a plain coloured woman today, with a gentle smackering of freckles and out of control hair. Deeming it unnecessary to wear this face any longer, Raven shook herself, and with that shake, the entire guise of the woman, the flow of scales over her body leaving her standing blue, naked and proud in the dingy phone box. She supposed if she was to actually take up this bouncy Lorna girl with the roommate thing, she'd have to choose a face. Sighing, Raven continued her search for Chiswick on her London map, trying to push that thought out of her head. She'd come to that when she found the damn place.

Suddenly, the name caught her eye. Chiswick. A good two hours walk from where she was in Westminster. Groaning out loud, Raven went to slump against the door of the call box, only to find it wasn't there. she fell backwards, arms flailing, falling on her arse in front of a perplexed looking homeless guy.

"Oh shit," She muttered.


	2. Acquaintances

Raven plonked herself down on a grotty bench opposite a large, victorian house. As she sighed, rubbing her calves, she noticed the house appeared to be separated into three flats; glancing at her arm, she saw that the apartment number was 12C. C meant that this girl had the basement apartment. She groaned; contrary to popular belief, she actually enjoyed watching the world go by, as prejudiced and ugly as it was. The building looked like it had been burnt; scorch marks were licked into the brickwork, blackening the house, and the top apartment looked abandoned, with rotting planks boarding up it's windows. Raven really hoped the trek and the fitful night of rest would be worth it.

Last night, after she'd knocked out the sorry-looking homeless guy she had fallen on, Raven finally walked to Chiswick, she had scouted round for one of those rough-housing student hostels, and settled herself in for the night. Raven had then mulled over what face she would chose to hide herself with for the foreseeable future. It was difficult; of course, each face she wore was normal enough, but they weren't her face. She couldn't wear her face. Erik would find her, or Charles. Or Hank. Or _someone_. The point was, human!Raven wasn't an option. She'd have to tweak it somehow. She stared down at her dark hands as they rested on her thighs, he legs dangling over the side of the bed. She was still wearing appearance of the Indian woman from when she went to go make the call, wild hair and freckles prominent. It wasn't that she didn't like this face, it was more the fact that it wasn't her. She was a different colour. She wasn't human. She was Mystique, not Raven. She wanted to be blue.

Then the idea hit her. She liked this form now, but it wasn't her, so she could make it her. All it would take was a few features re-arranged...and bam. With a ripple of scales, she was herself. Sorta. Just a little more Indian.

She slept awfully that night, the hostel bed was hard and unyielding, and all through the small hours Raven worried one of the other dorm members would awake to find a blue mutant in the bed next to them and rat her out. Luckily, no such occurrence happened, and she walked out of the hostel late in the morning, wearing her new skin proudly. The expression on the confused receptionists face had her giggling all the way to Lorna's house.

Raven waited on that bench for a good hour, until the nearby church struck 11 o'clock, and she deemed the time suitable for her to knock on that basement flat without being rude. At least, she thought 11 was a good time. Considering this girl was a student, then a suitable time wouldn't probably be until after 3 when the hangover finally left.

Descending the slimy stairs, Raven noticed that the door to the basement apartment was painted a garish lime green, the windows were washed sparkling clean (even though the curtains were drawn and she could not see inside) and there was loud dance music emanating out of what seemed like the pores of the bricks. _At least it's kept in good condition_, she thought. If there was anything Raven did not like, it was dirt. Or mud. Or anything untidy. Her motto in life went as follows; if you were unclean/messy and you could do something about it, do it. Otherwise, she would do it herself, and that would probably be slightly more violent than the cleaning methods most people had in mind.

Raven plonked her heavy bag down on the concrete floor and adjusted her fur coat, looking over herself in the mirror-like windows. Her outfit seemed inconspicuous yet stylish, and a perhaps a little old-fashioned for this day and age of glow sticks and lycra, but what was a 60s child like herself to do? Old habits died hard, and she just had to take the plunge.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

...

...

...

Nothing.

Raven tried again, a little more forcefully.

...

...

...

Nothing.

She looked around for a bell to ring; finding a brand new electric one, she pressed it a couple of times, and heard the trill of Debussy's _Claire De Lune_ underneath the dance music.

...

...

...

Still nothing.

At this point, Raven was becoming irritated. She had walked at least 10 miles for this nonsense, she was not going back without meeting this girl and t least looking around the apartment. Bending down, she pushed open the post flap, and put her mouth level with it.

"Hello?" She called into the slot, "Lorna Dane? It's Raven, I'm hear about the - Oh!" At that point, Lorna Dane decided to open the door and Raven fell, rather startled, into her open arms. Her rather_ sweaty_ open arms, she noted.

"Oh gosh, I'm so rude!" Lorna pulled Raven to her feet, smiling broadly. She had a young face, Raven noted. Green eyes peeked out underneath short eyelashes, and rosy cheeks were plump and welcoming. A wild spray of permed brown hair flowed from underneath a half ponytail and sweatband, the same sweat bands adorning Lorna's wrists and ankles. She appeared to be in a hideous fluorescent-green lycra and baggy t-shirt combo, which just about highlighted her sweat patches as much as a colour could. Raven realised the girl was spouting about something and tuned back into her words, "-Normally I'm really good with deliveries and people ringing the doorbell and stuff, but I was literally just starting my exercise VHS and had it up super loud, I'm really sorry about ignoring you!

She was irritating, Raven decided, but not in that I-want-to-bite-your-head-off way that mod girls seemed to be in these days. More like and and Erik way, the kind where when he knew he was wrong, he wouldn't stop apologising, but when he knew he was right, well...Raven had a fair idea of what this girl was like. She figured that was okay, she was used to dealing with people like that. As long as this girl showered after her exercise VHS-thing.

"It's fine," Raven said briskly, running a hand through her ginger hair, "It's good you take pride in your health."

This made Lorna laugh. "To be honest, I'm only really doing it because the outfit is fun, but yeah! The other thing works too! D'ya wanna come inside?" Lorna moved aside from the door, and beckoned Raven in. Raven supposed she really didn't have a choice anymore. SHe picked up her bag, and crossed the threshold, with Lorna leading the way into the living room.

"As you can see, I re-decorated recently! It's not normally this tidy but, y'know, I'm sure if you moved in you could whip me into shape," Lorna was already bustling off into the kitchen, a small alcove with a window into the living room which she proceeded to lean on. "Right, do you take tea, or coffee?"

"Uh, tea, please." _God_, thought Raven, _it's like living with Charles again. No-one's asked me if I wanted tea since we left England the first time._ While Lorna bustled about, assembling beverages, Raven wandered around the living room. It was large, for just one person to be living in, with pastel green walls and a black carpet across the floor. There were piles and piles of VHS's next to a fancy looking television, which was faced by a leather armchair and a scruffy corduroy sofa. There were a couple of old fashioned painting of the walls that reminded Raven of Xavier's Mansion, painfully so,so she looked away and wandered towards the incredibly small kitchen.

"Now, I know the kitchen isn't big, but we probably aren't gonna be cooking too many dinners here, and I've just had one of those new-fangled refrigerators installed so there's lots of space for keeping stuff! We've got a hob, and oven, a microwave, and some cupboards so we really do have everything we could possibly need." Lorna handed her a cup of tea, "Sugar?"

"No thanks," replied Raven, poking her head through the window and into the tiny kitchen. Lorna was right; there really _was_ everything you could need for cooking in there, it was just really compact.

"Follow me, I'll show you our bedroom and the bathroom," Lorna walked out of the kitchen and towards a hallway to the left of the front door. The hallway was painted the same pastel green, except it had two doors on the inside, to the left and the right. "So, right is our bedroom. It actually kinda big, let me open up..."

As Lorna swing open the door, and fumbled for the light switch, Raven mulled over the living room. It was nice, a bit cluttered and cliche but nice. SImple. Inconspicuous. And Lorna herself, well...she seemed like she didn't have a bad bone in her body. Of course, Raven had been room about this kinda stuff before, but she had a good feeling about Lorna.

Then, the smell of body-odour emanating from Lorna's room hit her.

It was awful. The room smelt like five teenage boys; how on earth did one girl produce all that? Lorna must've noticed her appalled expression because she quickly laughed as she flicked the light on. "That's the skip outside. Don't worry, you get used to it, it's normally better at night when the rubbish isn't being heated up." Now Raven realised why the girl needed a roommate so badly. All the expensive renovations, coupled with student life and no-one wanted to share a room next to a skip...she must be hard up for cash AND company.

If Raven could get past the smell, the room wasn't so bad. It had two double beds and each end of the chamber, with two desks back to back in the middle of it. the window where the smell emanated from was covered by a large wardrobe and what looked like multiple air fresheners hanging off of the wardrobe, the kind you got in cars.

Lorna studied Raven intently. "So...I guess this is the only bad thing about the place." Raven took a sip of her tea, nodding slightly, "Really, you do get used to it. Do you want to see the bathroom or...?"

"Personally, I'd rather talk about rent." Raven felt herself replying, instantly cursing herself. That gave the impression she was definitely going to live her! WHich she might not be! At least, she didn't thin she would.

"Oh, seriously? Ace! Let's go back to the sofa then. Lorna practically bounded back into the main room, a grin stretching her pretty face childishly, patting the space next to her for Raven to sit down,"So, my landlord right now charge £40 a month, which we can split 20-20. SHe's super nice; sometimes she comes down and brings biscuits. Anyway, that includes maintenance, so it's pretty damn cheap. Anything left in the fridge can be used by both of us unless specifically named, we can sort out a TV rota or something, and I'm at Uni right now, so my schedule is pretty late. Don't worry about it, I don't make too much noise at night, I just have a lot of thesis' to moderate and stuff. I think that's about all the conditions..." Lorna's face scrunched up, trying to think of anything else to add, "Oh yeah! the boiler down her is for the ground floor and the basement, so you can only really get hot water at like 5 o'clock in the morning. Have you got any questions?"

Raven sighed; part of her hated this basement flat, with it's cliche decorations and terrible smelling bedroom, and would like nothing better than to go and break into some penthouse and sleep there. However, another part of her craved this domesticity, and couldn't help feeling sorry for the bubbly-yet calculating girl in front of her. She wanted to help. She also want to be safe. And this dingy little light-less subterranean flat seemed the safest place in the world.

"What do you study?"

"S-Sorry?" Stuttered Lorna, surprised the question was so off topic.

"Well, I figured, since we're going to be roommates and all, I should at least know what you study." The frizzy-haired student beamed like the sun shined out of Raven's arse, "But please, no hugging, not until you've had a shower."


	3. Friends

The first week Raven spent in that smelly little basement flat was uneventful, to say the least. She'd plonked her bag down on the bed, whipped out the money for this months rent, and waved it in front of a rather stunned Lorna's face, stating she that she was good to move in. Lorna took one look at the money, and nodded, rushing upstairs to put it in the - no, their - landlady's post box. Raven was left alone in the small room, her oversized leather handbag now emptied onto the bed. She sighed wearily, and looked over the contents of the bag - a couple of spare pairs of underwear, and couple of t-shirts and trousers, toiletries and four wallets that contained multiple identities she had secured for herself back in the seventies. Oh, and those old polaroids of her and...well. She tended not to look at them often; they made her much too melancholy. Instead of looking at them, she returned them to her bag, and began packing her clothes into her draws underneath her bed.

Lorna didn't return for a good 10 minutes, and when she did, she popped her head round the door briefly to say: "I've got a class in an hour or so, so I'm gonna head out, but when I get back, we can get to know each other, yeah?" She didn't even give Raven a chance to reply before she flounced out the apartment, door slamming behind her.

Left alone in the dingy apartment, Raven took a shower, and then took a nap in her new – surprisingly comfy – bed. Well, it was meant to be a nap. She ended sleeping 12 straight hours (she supposed that that grotty youth hostel must have taken the peace out of her sleep) and she awoke to a post-it note on her forehead.

_Hey there new roommate!_

_I've got class until 7, but we can get to know each other when I get back!_

_Love,_

_LORNA xxxxx_

Raven meandered around the flat, realizing she had gone to sleep naked. She supposed it was a good thing there were no windows in the basement; otherwise the neighbors would be greeted with quite the eyeful. Instead of going out and contributing to society, or at least introduce herself to the housekeeper, Raven decided to flop down on the sofa, and watch television as herself for once in a while. Except, the television watching, which was only meant to go on for a couple of hours, ended up taking up most of the day, until Raven decided it was time for dinner and ordered a takeaway. Then, somehow, she was tired again, so she slept for another 10 hours.

And so it continued for the entire week. Raven would do absolutely nothing all day, fall asleep early and wake up to a post it note on her forehead. The two girls would not cross path, and so Raven began to slip into a cycle of nothingness, until one day, Lorna came home early.

Raven barely had time to stand up and switch to her human form before her roommate was jumping onto the sofa, a large plastic bag clinking as she threw it down next to Raven.

"Afternoon!" The ever-chipper Lorna yelled into Raven's face, "I came home early so we can do roommate stuff!"

"You know, Lorna, you really don't have to, I know you're busy –"

"Nonsense, look," Lorna pulled the bag upon and trust it under Raven's nose, "I bought drinks and pedicure sets and stuff, we can have a girly night in!"

Sighing, Raven pushed the bag away from her face. She didn't really do alcohol; it tended to drop her awareness, and with it, her human face. "I appreciate the thought, but I really can't."

"Do you have a test tomorrow?"

That startled Raven somewhat. "I beg your pardon?"

"University? A job? Pop quiz?"

"Well, no –"

"Then you're fine! Sit down, grab a beer."

"I'm not sure..."

Lorna gave her a glare, brushing her brown perm out of her eyes. "Sit. Down."

"O-Okay." Raven sat back on the ratty sofa, whilst Lorna bustled around in the tiny kitchen for a bottle opener. She heard the crack of an oven door opening, and Lorna came rushing back into the room, metal utensil in hand.

"I put some pizza's in so we have something to eat, considering you ate through all my food this week." Raven cringed. She had meant to go out, she really did. Lorna sighed as she handed her new roommate a beer, "What do you do all day, anyway?"

Raven shrugged. If she was honest, she had really no idea. She supposed was watching TV most of the time, but nothing really went in. There were tons of doodles in her notepads, and she'd even looked at her old family photos a couple of times, but apart from consuming all the food, nothing. Realizing that Lorna was expecting an answer, Raven yelped out the first thing that came to mine. "Job hunting."

"From the sofa?"

Raven mentally hit herself. God, that was a dumb thing to say. "Well, thinking about job hunting."

Lorna nodded her head vigorously, "I get it, it's gonna be hard for you adjust to English life, right?" It was Raven's turn to nod, as she finished off her beer, "Whereabouts in America did you come from?"

"Uh, New York." Lorna was handing her another beer.

"Oh, that's ace! I've never been to America..." Lorna drifted off whimsically, seemingly run of things to say, "D'ya wanna watch more TV?"

"Sure." Lorna grabbed the remote and turned on the BBC.

"Here, have another beer."

_Crap_, thought Raven.

Somewhere after their fifth beer, Lorna decided it would be a good idea to start playing 'Never Have I Ever;. Raven wasn't so sure; it was getting harder to see the finer details of the television, and the last time she played this with Erik, they had ended up robbing a bank drunk.

She voiced her displeasure and was met with an over-sized baby whining. "Oh please, please, please! It'll be fun, you don't have to explain your answers..." Lorna then decided to whip out the most powerful weapon in her arsenal; puppy dog eyes.

Raven didn't last two seconds. "Jesus, fine."

"Yay! Lemme just grab those shot glasses..." Rifling through the bag, Lorna produced some plastic shot glasses and a bottle of vodka. With an unsteady hand, she poured two shots out. "D'ya wanna start?"

"Um, okay." Raven wracked her mind for something she hadn't done. Murder. _Check_. Armed robbery. _Check_. Attempted assassination of the president of the United States. _Almost check_.

"Well?"

"Never have I ever..." _Quickly, quickly! _"...Kicked a cat." Lorna winced, and downed her shot, much to Raven's surprise. "Do I even want to know?"

"It was an accident, and it wasn't a nice cat."

"But it was a cat!" Raven exclaimed.

Lorna shook her head, and poured two more shots, "It was the one time! Anyway...never have I ever stolen a car."

"Damn." Chuckled Raven, knocking back her shot, wincing slightly as it burned the back of her throat.

"No way." Lorna stared at her roommate incredulously.

"Yes way. I needed a car," _Well_, thought Raven, _Erik needed a car._ "Right, lemme think of another one..." Lorna's shocked face made her laugh. He slow burn in the bottom of her stomach was finally coming through. "Uhh, never have I ever babysat."

Lorna glared at her while she took her shot. "Now, that's just cheating."

Raven chuckled into her hand, "Not my fault if you're a nicer person than me."

A pitiful light entered Lorna's eyes as she clasped at Raven's hands, looking like she was on the verge of tears. "I don't believe that for a second, I bet you're the nicest person ever. And I, uh..." Her sentence drifted off into little sobs.

"Maybe we shouldn't play this game anymore, Lorna." Lorna had stopped crying and was rocking herself, clutching the vodka bottle. Reaching in, Raven gently unclasped her roommate's stiff hands, and eased the bottle out of her appendages. "Do you wanna go to bed?"

"Uh-huh."

"Okay then, let's just get up –" In an attempt to maneuver Lorna to standing, Raven actually pulled the both of them onto the floor, amongst the discarded beer bottles. That was weird, she didn't feel _that_ drunk, but then again, she never did. Raven just needed to put Lorna to bed and then she could stop resisting the pull to drop her human façade.

The bottles were rolling across the floor as Raven pulled Lorna along into their bedroom, the both of them giggling like children. The flailing limbs that were keeping the two of them upright – Raven wasn't sure who's they were – knocked off some of the paintings on the walls of the corridor, and the pressure of opening the door got to them, as the two of them fell on each other the moment it opened.

Then, Lorna started hiccupping. "I think I'm a bit –_hic_ – drunk."

"Me too." Raven hefted the student up under the arms again, shuffling her over to the bed and trying to place her on the sheets without jostling her too much. "I'm just gonna go and turn the lights off, okay?"

"Mm hm. Raven?"

"Yeah?" Called Raven from the corridor.

"How come you're in England, like, where's y'family?"

Raven stumbled back into the now pitch black room, throwing off her clothes. "It's a long story, y'dun wanna know." _Jesus_, she thought, _I really am drunk_.

"But we're friends, aren't we?"

"Yeah, sure." Raven slipped under the covers of her bed, feeling her willpower go limp. "You sure you wanna know?"

"Yeah!"

"I was adopted when I was younger by this great family. Really rich, British actually. I was sommat like eight? I grew up with their son and he was great. So great. I really miss him sometimes..." She didn't mean to say that! Damn, as long as she didn't tell Lorna Charles' name – "His name was Charles –" _Damn it Raven_, "And he was a massive nerd. We got into some heavy criminal stuff and I ran off with his best friend –"

"So wait," Interrupted Lorna, "Were you with that Charles dude?"

Ha. "No. No I wasn't." Raven sighed, and rolled over to her side. "I guess I thought we could've been, but I was always too different for him." _He couldn't deal with my skin colour_, she thought.

"What a racist shit!" Exclaimed the darkness on the other side of the room. Damn, Raven must've said that out loud. She forgot she was wearing the face of that Indian woman.

"Sommat like that." She sighed into her pillow, "Anyway, the guy I ran with, Erik –" There wasn't really any point hiding their names anymore, " – got put in prison, and he tried to kill me so we kinda split."

"So you came to the UK to get away from him?"

"I guess."

"Did it work?"

Raven had to think about that. Sure, she was away from Erik and Charles, no chance of seeing them in this little basement flat, but had she really escaped them? Because they were always there in the back of her mind, one way or the other. "I guess." She replied.

There was silence in the dark room for a few minutes, Raven presumed Lorna had fallen asleep, until a heavy voice drifted out of the darkness: "You awake?"

"Mmhmm."

"Can I ask you a serious question?" Raven heard rustling as Lorna stumbled over to sit on the side of Raven bed.

"Get back into bed, Lorna."

"Mmkay." Yet more rustling, as Raven realized that Lorna was crawling under the covers next to her.

"Your bed, Lorna."

"Nooooooo, I can't move." Lorna's head popped up on the pillow next to Raven. "Can I ask you that question now?"

"Fine, what is it?" Raven's brown eye's met Lorna's green ones in the semi-darkness, being surprised to find them worried.

"What do you think about mutants?"

Raven went rigid; had she forgotten her human face? When she slept, had the disguise slipped? If Lorna had seen it, and joined the dots with the footage from that Peace Conference..."Why do you ask?" Raven choked out.

"I – uh...don't worry, about it, it was a dumb question. It's just..."

Raven started sweating, "What?"

"Nevermind, night Raven." With that comment, Lorna turned her back on her roommate and relaxed into the bed. "Thanks for being such a chill roommate."

"We're friends, aren't we?"

"Yeah." Chuckled Lorna.


	4. Old-New Friends

"Pietro, get out of there now!"

Magneto raised his hand, throwing the line of police cars in front of him up in the air. Officers scattered left, right and center; realising that their tiny metal guns were useful against the powerful mutant. There was a screech as one of the cars barrelled into a fire hydrant, water spraying up in the air and coating the surrounding buildings in a slick. Striding through the crescent of water, Magneto once again lifted his hand, searching amongst the metal ruins of the building before him for any anomalies, any sign of his son.

"Boo." Pietro stood behind Erik with a self-satisfied smile on his face, holding a file of paper under one arm, "You don't need to worry so much, old man, I got the file and-"

"Shut up, kid," Quicksilver found himself being dragged behind his father by the metal of his cuffs, evident that Magneto wasn't down for jokes.

"Did I not do good?"

Dropping his control of Pietro's costume, Erik sighed, letting his son fall to the floor, "No, you did great, but we don't need her file anymore."

"How come?" Pietro's brow crumpled as he picked himself up, rubbing down his silver trousers, looking hurt.

The sound of sirens echoed as Erik started striding down the road again. "Psylocke has informed me she's located her."

There was a whoosh, and suddenly Pietro was matching Erik step for step, bouncing like an excited puppy, "We're gonna do it? We're actually gonna bring her home? Aw, hell, Xavier is gonna be so pissed."

"Not quite." Erik muttered.

* * *

"What the bloody hell are you on about, Hank?"

Dr. McCoy took his glasses off and polished them on the sleeve of his jacket, shifting from side to side nervously. "I'm really sorry, Charles, but I spotted it on the radar."

"Well, that's ridiculous, I would've sensed them," Forsaking his lecture, Charles gestured to his students to exit his study, leaving him alone with a very distraught Hank.

"Well, they've blocked you before, Charles. Remember the White Queen?"

"Why now?" Charles shook his head, and drove his wheel chair towards the large bay window, regarding the students laying on the front lawn with concern, "His business is his own, and if he has come to harm my students..."

Hank sighed, perching on the edge of the headmaster's desk, his anxious hands falling into his lap. "If he came for a fight, surely he would have cloaked his approach on the monitor too?" Hank pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, "i mean, come on, he's meant to be the Master of Magnetism."

"Let us hope that his approach is simply a courteous visit," Grimaced Charles. Not like he cared enough to see you before, don't be naive, thought the telepath to himself. "In the mean time, it would probably be best if I plugged into Cerebro." Hank raised an eyebrow at him for that remark, "Do you really want to wait to see whether their presence is a friendly one?"

"There is no need for that, old friend." A deep voice boomed from the doorway, causing Charles and Hank to exchange horrified expressions. There stood Magneto, magenta clad, with Peter Maximoff at one arm, and at the other, a female with dark hair and even darker eyes. Charles supposed she was his replacement telepath. "Charles," Erik began, clearing his throat in his best attempt to look sincere, "We need to talk about Raven."

* * *

"HOLY SHIT, RAVEN, GET UP, GET UP!"

"Mmf..." Raven mumbled, pressing her face into her pillow. Why did her alarm have to be so loud?

"I'm not your alarm, you arsewipe! The oven's on fire!" Now that got Raven's attention. She shot out of bed, and almost went hurtling into the kitchen before she caught her reflection in the mirror through the bathroom doorway - her facade had dropped overnight! Shit, shit, shit, went the silent chanting in Raven's head as she shifted back into the Indian girl. Had Lorna seen? Was that why she was using that weird line of questioning last night? As she swung into the kitchen, she was shocked to see Lorna swatting at the fire with her dressing gown.

"What the hell are you doing?" Exclaimed Raven, her eyes searching the cramped kitchen for a fire extinguisher.

"Don't bother," The still-flapping Lorna said, noticing Raven's darting looks, "I pawned the red thingie."

"What for?!"

"Rent money, student life is expensive!"

Raven sighed exasperatedly, ran her hands through her hair, and backed away from the fire. "Wait her a sec," With that she sprinted out of the kitchen, and towards the bathroom.

Lorna's flapping velocity increased, "Well, I'm not bloody going anywhere, am I?"

"Stop flapping, you giving the fire more oxygen," Raven re-entered the room clutching and a damp towel.

"Hang on, that's mine, you can't use that, it my only-"

"Shush. New towel or new oven?"

Lorna's emerald eyes flicked back and forth between the towel and oven, but eventually she stopped he flapping, allowed Raven to shove the damp cloth into the oven and slam it shut. The fire went out almost immediately, and the two girls sighed in relief. After a few seconds, Raven went to retrieve the now slightly-singed towel, but as she pulled it out, so did a disk of charcoal. Whilst is lay on the floor, smoking and cracked, Raven regarded it with a puzzled expression, until Lorna sidled over to her and sighed.

"It was gonna be such a great pizza."

Raven patted her on the shoulder, "I know, girl. I know." The two girls stood staring at the sad cremated remains of the pizza, until they caught each others eyes, and all seriousness dissolved into helpless giggles. Laughter reverberated around the apartment as the two girls stood there, doubled over helplessly, clutching onto one another for support. Lorna straightened her back up, and couched, trying to look a little more serious. "Shall I make us breakfast?"

"God no, you aren't allowed anywhere near the kitchen!" Scoffed Raven, wiping little tears from her eyes, "I'll get some cereal or something."

As she bustled around the tiny kitchen, pouring out cereal and fetching milk, Raven's mind was strangely free from worries. She guessed she felt comfortable in the dingy flat, with the crazy roommate, as domestic as it was. No running, no stealing, no fighting humanity for survival. Just existing.

"Yo, Raven? You dead in there?"

"Just coming!" Grabbing the bowls, Raven manoeuvred into the living room, setting Lorna's down on the coffee table in front of her.

"You're pretty good at the whole waitressing thing dude. I think the cafe across the road has a vacancy," Raven gave Lorna a confused look as she settled into the soft sofa, "You said you were job hunting yesterday?"

"Oh, yeah, right!" Raven silently cursed out her lying skills, or lack thereof.

"Mphff saffm jsuff hmff schrm rodaygf," Spat Lorna, mouth full of cornflakes.

"Sorry?" Raven leaned away from the bran spewing from her roomate's mouth.

"I said," Lorna swallowed, "We could pop over there and see if they have any vacancies today?"

"Oh, um, yeah, sure thing." Great, thought Raven, just fabulous.


	5. Good Friends

She was being dragged along the hard, skin-shredding gravel by something embedding in her leg. Thrashing side to side, Raven tried to reach out, and grab something that would stop her journey across the driveway, her nails cracked and bleeding. She had to focus. She had to dull the pain. The agony in her leg would be nothing compared to what awaited her at the end of the driveway...whatever that was. She couldn't quite remember or see what she was headed towards. Suddenly, she came to an abrupt foot, and felt a small object slide out her leg, the sensation making her already-hoarse voice cry out once again.

"I'm so sorry, Raven." Forcing herself to look, Raven's eyes slid up the boots, then the legs, torso, and of her tormenter, finally meeting his eyes. Erik. Holding a gun. Pointed at her.

"Erik, there has to be another way," Tears were streaming down her face; she felt like she had been here before, at his feet, begging for her life.

The master of magnetism cocked his head to the side, and spoke with a voice not his own, "Did you know that the polarity of the Earth's magnetic field reverses every 440,00 years?"

"W-What?" Stuttered Raven. The safety slid off the gun.

"The field protects us from the deadly solar wind."

Raven felt a pressure build on her chest, "Erik, plea-"

BANG.

Darkness. No Erik, no gun, no weird voice. No, the weird voice was actually there, but it belonged to it's real owner. Lorna. Who happened to be perched on Raven chest, still chattering in her face, which really wasn't helping Raven calm her breathing and generally stop freaking out.

"Jesus Christ, Lorna." With a quick shove, the raving student fell off the side of the bed, and Raven was left to wipe her cold sweat away, "What were the hell you chanting at me?"

"Stuff for my test next Monday." Raven watched as Lorna pulled herself onto a chair, staring intently at a book on the desk.

"It's Friday, I have work tomorrow."

"Technically speaking, it's Saturday now."

"Go to bed, dick."

* * *

The sun filtered dimly through the basement flat's small windows, bathing the dust motes swirling about the sitting room in a gentle glow. Sitting on the sofa, Lorna Dane desperately scribbled onto a sheet of paper, pausing only to take a gulp of the now-cold tea that sat on the coffee table in front of her. As a loud trill sounded from the alarm clock in front of her, the front door opened and a tired-looking Raven staggered in.

"Whoopee!" Crowed Lorna triumphantly, "I did it!"

"Did what?" Mutter Raven as she shrugged off her coat, hanging it on the coat stand.

"A timed essay on the theory of paleomagnetic rays!" The fist pumping ceased, and was replaced by a jaunty little dance of victory around the sofa.

"Well, congratulations, but calm down, you're gonna break something." The dancing briefly stopped as Raven plonked down on the sofa, her roommate regarding her with a air of mischief. "What?"

"We should go out!" Raven shuddered; she despised nightclubs. Noticing this, Lorna backtracked surprisingly fast, "Wait, not like that, we should just go shopping or something. Something fun!"

"Why not another time? I'm kinda tired from work," _And your interruption last night doesn't help_, added Raven in her mind.

There was a _whoomph_ as Lorna vaulted onto the sofa from behind Raven, grinning up at her friend with manic eyes. "It could be like a celebration! Cos I finished my essay, and you got your first pay check from the cafe," She gave a wink, and laid her head on Raven's shoulder, noticing the Indian was giving no reaction, "Please, I really need to get a new dressing gown, cos' you burnt my last one,"

Raven's facade cracked a bit, and she smiled slightly, "It wouldn't have happened if you hadn't burnt the pizza."

Lorna gave her a playful shove, "You shouldn't have put me to bed so early then,"

"You shouldn't've been so drunk then,"

"You shouldn't be such a killjoy!"

"Hey," Raven started, feeling quite offended, "I'm no killjoy."

Lorna leaped up onto the coffee table, grinning wildly, "Prove it," Extending a hand down to the still-seated Raven, the manic student gave an indecent eyebrow wiggle, "If you think you're hard enough."

_Dammit_, thought Raven as she took Lorna's hand. She could never resist a challenge.

With a jolt, Lorna pulled her out of her seat, and pushed her friend towards the door. "Get your coat! We can still catch the 1:45 if you move your arse fast enough," Her frizzy perm disappeared into their bedroom, searching for their bags.

"How long have you been planning this?" Queried Raven as she wiggled into her bomber jacket.

Hurrying out of the bedroom, Lorna replied with an airy giggle, and handed Raven her bag, "Not as long as you think. Now, out with you!"

The two girls stumbled out of the house, and up into the cold autumn air of London. It was ridiculously busy, even on their little, friendly street, and Lorna acted as Moses as she parted the crowds of people on the pavement and tugged her friend to the bus stop. People gave the girls odd looks as Lorna shoved through, but instead of shrinking from their stares as Raven did, she painted a determined look upon her face and increased the intensity of speed and pushes. At the pace Lorna was rushing at, Raven was thankful that her arm wasn't pulled out of her socket. She could've done without the stares, though. The bus stop came into sight after a few more twists's and turns, just as the bus pulled up. Skidding to a stop, Raven barrelled straight into Lorna's back, pushing her over, the two of them falling onto the dirty paving slabs in a pile. An angry shout was issued from the bus driver, and in no time at all, Lorna was practically dragging Raven off the ground, and into the bus.

Flashing passes at the irate driver, the girls stumbled, giggling towards the back of the bus where they took residence for the remainder of the trip. Forsaking her former talkative mood, Lorna rustled through her bag, searching for something, and Raven leaned against the cool window of the bus, staring contemplatively out on the grey sight of London speeding past her.

Things over the past few weeks had just rushed by; Lorna had hustled her into the small cafe over the road for a job as soon as they had dealt with the burning pizza, and the gentle mannered Italian's that than it had practically hired her on the spot, much to her chagrin. Her shifts weren't too bad though; she worked for the evening shifts in the week, then one morning shift on Saturday, and everything else was free. If she was honest with herself, Raven had never really had a job before - not one that was so regular, anyway. The monotonous pattern of her sleeping all day had stopped, and instead she had come to look forward to her allotted hours of carrying food and being polite to people. It was odd, but it made her feel like she was finally doing something with herself - sure, the mutant Brotherhood had been important too, but being a member of functioning society had it's perks too.

Then there was Lorna. Raven's eyes rolled from the window to regard her friend, who was still rifling through her bag, a collection of spare change growing in her lap. Without the frizzy haired student, Raven suspected that she wouldn't have kept out of the gutter for more than a few weeks. A strange shiver went through her body; it had been years since she had someone that she trusted like she did Lorna; there was no ulterior motive with her, she was just along for the ride, and that was nice. Relaxing back in her chair, Raven let loose a sigh. Yeah, it was nice.

They sat in silence fore half an hour or so as the bus navigated the busy roads of suburbia, until there was a lurch as the bus made its stop on Oxford Street. The two girls made their exit, giving the bus driver a wave which he responded to with a gruff middle finger.

"Charming, eh?" Lorna smiled, and linked her arm in Raven's, "Come on, you owe me a new dressing gown."

* * *

The security guard's hand on her elbow would have normally irritated Raven, but as she and Lorna were pushed out of Primark, and into the chilly air of the street, they were consumed by giggles, turning around as the heavy metal shutters came down on the shop. Between the two of them, they had enough bags with the combined weight to sink the Titanic. Clothes, crockery, paintings - anything that the two had decided that would make their apartment more homelike.

Arms too laden with goodies to link arm arms, Lorna nudged Raven's shoulder and gave her a grin, "Shopping isn't that bad, right?"

Raven regarded their purchases with a twinkle in her eye, "I thought you only needed a dressing gown,"

"I thought you didn't like spending money!"

"I guess we're both liars then,"

Falling into a familiar step, the girls trotted off down the street towards the bus station, sashaying in between the hectic masses of people getting home. However, the crowds all seemed to be taking the same direction that the girls were taking. Raven didn't know too much about the habits of Londoners, but she was pretty sure that the entirety population of London didn't reside in Chiswick. Slowing down, she caught Lorna's eye, but the other girl gave her a confused shrug. "Hell if I know," Lorna gave a little half jump to try and peer over the heads of the growing crowd, noting that they had almost reached Piccadilly Circus, "Maybe there's a telly thing on?"

Continuing their walk, raven felt an anxious dread grow in the pit of her stomach. She had caught mutterings from the crowd's conversations - just snippets, but words like 'damned mutants' and 'protest' being repeated over and over again were enough to put her on edge. It's not Erik, she kept telling herself, it can't be him. He's not the only mutant fanatic on Earth. Lorna sensed her friends anxiety and gave her another nudge, plus a reassuring smile, but even Lorna's joviality couldn't settle the unrest that Raven felt.

Eventually, the two of them reached Piccadilly Circus, with it's towering lights and billboards. When normally so full of hustle bustle, the space seemed deathly quiet, much too quiet for a busy Saturday night. The only sound in the air was that of the muted murmurs of the surrounding crowds, whose had come to a stop, effectively blocking the roommates from continuing towards the bus.

"I guess we're gonna miss the 7:05," Muttered Lorna, shifting her bags around, "At least we haven't got anyth-"

A low hum issued from the centre of the junction. Raven went onto her tiptoes, to try and locate the source of the odd sound, but the throng of the crowd was simply too thick too peer through. Without so much of a glance at Lorna, Raven went powering through the crowd, spoils of shopping and all, to try and see what was going on. If it was a mutant protest, she had to be sure. She had to be sure it wasn't Erik.

Soon enough, after many disgruntled noises from protesting onlookers she pushed out of the way, she reached the front of the crowds, all the time becoming more and more conscious of the humming increasing in volume. kneeling on the road of the junction shocked Raven to the core, and she felt her knees buckle slightly. There were hundreds of people in red KKK-style hoods, each of them holding a candle. It looked like one of the old parody drawings she'd doodled when she was still running around with Erik, to try and shock the pro-human supporters. It had just been a joke between her and Erik, she hadn't shown anyone else...it couldn't be. It had to be a coincidence. It just had to be.

"Woah, what the hell?" Raven heard from her shoulder; Lorna had followed her path through the crowd, huffing and puffing underneath the weight of all her bags, "Some chick back there was saying it's a pro-mutant demonstration," Lorna regarded her friend with a detached look, "Are you into all that stuff?"

Shaking herself, raven turned to her friend and gave a shaky smile, "What - no, of course not. I'm not a mutant,"

Lorna's brow creased as she looked away, "I didn't say you were," She said quietly under her breath.

Raven was about to retort, when the loud humming suddenly cut out. The entire gathering of people went silent, as the demonstrators dropped their hoods, revealing mutants with obvious physical mutations. A woman with horns, a teenager with black eyes and jagged teeth, and a man without a mouth made up just some of the participants. A woman in the centre of the road dropped her candle and shucked off her robe, taking a powerful stance amongst her still companions. She had long dark hair, and was dressed in a purple PVC pantsuit. Hundreds of breaths were held - waiting for her to open her mouth, but she did no such thing. Instead, she raised both hands to the sky as if she was praising God, and a loud voice reverberated about Raven's head. _Telepath._

_"We are the Fallen._

_We are the Misrepresented._

_We are Mutantkind._

_We search for our brothers and sisters, to bring them to the light._

_We will not be silenced."_

The familiar trundle of an Army truck sounded in the distance; raven's head whipped round, her attention diverted from the compelling woman in purple. The woman also looked slightly startled, dropping her hands slightly, looking as if she was lost. A moment later, she regained her composure, and raised them again.

_"We search for one of our lost sisters._

_Now is the time to usher in the new age._

_The age of the Homo Superior._

_This is not a war; this is an extermination."_

The woman dropped her hands and bowed her head, as if she was praying again. Suddenly, there was a bright white light flashing in front of everyone, blinding raven with it's intensity. instinctively, she dropped her shopping and reached for Lorna's hand. There was a cacophony of screams, and Raven thought she could hear the harsh bark of a soldier telling her to step back from the road. Her eyes blazed white, and as her sight slowly returned she was aware of the rush of people screaming about her, and Lorna crouching protectively over their bags, growling at anyone stumbling around them

"-at's right, move on, nothing to see here, move on your merry way," Tapping her on the shoulder, Raven was met with furious eyes that softened as soon as Lorna saw the shaky state her friend was in, "Thank God, you snapped out of it. Pick up your bags, we gotta get out of here,"

Without thinking, Raven reached down to help Lorna with the begs, and the two of them were running down the street, looking no different to the other mania-enthused pedestrians. It was then that something strange stuck Raven; where the hell were the protesters? "Some chick threw her hands up in the air and nobody could see anything," Explained Lorna, sensing her friends confusion, "When people started being able to see again, they had just disappeared. Teleportation is my best guess,"

They hurried along the pavement, the flow of the crowd keeping them on their feet. The unease that Raven had felt when she heard about the protesters was back, and worst than ever. They said they were looking for someone - a lost sister, and that was definitely one of her demonstration ideas. It was too coincidental, too close for comfort - Erik was looking for her. She just hoped that the walls that Charles had helped her put up were enough to keep his telepath friend out.

"Do'ya reckon that display was for the person they're looking for?" Lorna enquired, as the two of them power walked through the thinning crowds.

"I don't know," Murmured Raven, keeping her eyes on the ground. Lorna kept talking, despite her friend's reluctance to participate, trying to draw a response out of her.

"I'm all for the mutant movement, sure; but," Lorna pulled Raven out of the way of a hysterical man hurtling straight for them, temporarily losing her train of thought.

"But?"

"You know, scare tactics aren't the only way to go about it. You get me?"

Raven desperately wanted to say something; to yell, to educate, to tell the student what she had seen, the cruelty she had experienced at the hands of humanity, and how scare tactics were the only thing their kind had left, but she bit down her anger, and played the part of the indifferent onlooker. "I guess."

Sometimes she wondered how much of herself was Raven, and how much of herself was Erik.


End file.
